Re: PowerBook G4 Update.. is now official
Hi WAMUGGERS, Mark, I've been doing a bit of work on these sorts of units for some primary school music teachers and there are a lot of options in these external USB AD/DA interfaces. These are needed as the teachers have laptops not desktops. The ones we want need to have both MIDI and audio connectivity both hi and lo Z inputs and some aux input and connectivity to USB. The upshot is that the tascam, yamaha, roland edirol ua3 (and others), midiman , m-audio quattro, aardvark, digidesign mbox (recently featured on Apple's website!) all do the job. One big difference is the quality of the software for sequencing/recording and then mixing down to audio. Some come with nothing and don't work with much either (not even Steinberg Cubase VST or EMagic Logic Audio - go figure). The Tascam units come with Cubasis that does 8 audio tracks and 48 midi and seems a good value - this is $200 software. I like the US-428 unit with 8 sliders that link directly to software mixers and let you have 16 banks of 8 slides - with presets and DSP built-in - sweet! It's the one I'd buy - but it isn't cheap. http://www.tascam.com/products/us428/index.php http://www.tascam.com/products/computer_recording/us224/index.php These are great for small mixing/recording needs and ideal for beginners getting into recording. Creative have a great but PC-only softwarewise (at this time) unit called the Extigy which is good for the home hobbyist who wants it all - a bit of recording, amplification, surround-sound for gaming etc. http://www.soundblaster.com/products/extigy/ I'd love to get my hands on one of these and see how well it works with macs - it's far cheaper than many alternatives and has some unique features. petersw Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. (Anything written in Latin sounds impressive.) Spicer-Wensley Consultancy Services 6 Wilkins Street BELLEVUE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6056 Ph/Fax: 9250 2048 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: PowerBook G4 Update.. is now official
Ah, now we're back to having an audio in socket again... ie for using an external microphone or sound input. And it looks like we're back to the bad old days of having the power plug prongs integrated into the powerpack, as opposed to being on the end of a cable. Sigh. Will they never learn? Also, where's the audio line out? It's mentioned, but I can't see it on the back panel. I guess you're meant to buy an iPod for that (Or is it integrated into the DVI connector? :) Have fun, Shay -- === Shay Telfer Perth, Western Australia Technomancer It must be bunnies! Opinions for hire [POQ] [EMAIL PROTECTED] fnord
Re: PowerBook G4 Update.. is now official
Also, where's the audio line out? It's mentioned, but I can't see it on the back panel. I guess you're meant to buy an iPod for that (Or is it integrated into the DVI connector? :) There is the headphones jack on the side... Maybe you could just plug that straight into the mic jack on your mixing deck. :P (With the volume turned up full of course!) Regards Matthew Healey -- Matthew Healey Information Systems Western Orthopaedic Clinic [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: +61 (08) 9489 8700 Fax: +61 (08) 9381 8300 Suite 213 25 McCourt Street Subiaco 6008 Western Australia
Re: PowerBook G4 Update.. is now official
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Matthew Healey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Also, where's the audio line out? It's mentioned, but I can't see it on the back panel. I guess you're meant to buy an iPod for that (Or is it integrated into the DVI connector? :) There is the headphones jack on the side... Maybe you could just plug that straight into the mic jack on your mixing deck. :P (With the volume turned up full of course!) Sorry missed the original - had unsubscribed/resubscribed (what a pain) so going to take a punt as to this being about conecting a powerbook up to a DJ or FoH or home studio mixer. If this is something you're going to do regularly rather than a once off you'd probably be better off investing in a USB to audio converter if nothing else than to avoid damaging fragile mini jack cables and ports as most USB Audio Converters use RCA and/or standard phono some flash ones have cannon balanced/unbalanced inputs. Be aware that most D/A A/D USB devisece won't work properly through standard USB powered hubs so plug them straight in to the USB conector on your mac. Some do digital to analogue (A/D) only so sound out through the usb port to converter to mixer/stereo. Others do both D/A A/D so you can record from a standard stereo line-in source or Hi-Z microphone as well as output to a mixer. There's a lot of sales pitch about better sound quality because the D/ A A/D conversion is done outside the computer so subject to less electrical/electronic noise which may be a bunch of hockum or not as I have not as yet layed my hands on one. They are resonably priced if you are going to use this semi-regularly. I'll get around to getting one soon to do MP3'ing of my old records - mainly to get some white label stuff on to CD. http://www.minidisco.com/minispecs/edirolua3.html ( I want this one) http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/quattro.php (total overkill unless your running a semi pro home studio) http://www.griffintechnology.com/audio/imic_main.html - use mini audio :( http://www.griffintechnology.com/audio/pwrwave.html - use mini audio :(
Re: PowerBook G4 Update.. is now official
Ah, now we're back to having an audio in socket again... ie for using an external microphone or sound input. Other stuff: Level 3 cache (1 meg) Increased resolution to 1280x854 DVI out w/VGA adapter included ATI Mobility RADEON 7500 w/32 MB DDR-RAM (AGP 4x) 1MB DDR L3 cache There's a photo of the new port layout at http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html However go and check out the price on the eMac plastic stand (ie with the build to order options)... $117.70!! Phil Wow, that was quieter than a umm never mind. http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore The PowerBook G4s have been *officially* updated (ie speed bump, video RAM/chip) Pricing has gone up a bit on each one. New pricing and specs can be found on the Apple Store link above (ie click on PowerBook). Rgds, Phil Oh yeah I just happen to have my personal PowerBook G4/400 for sale... seriously... $4300, got a bit over 2 years remaining Apple warranty on it -- -- Sent from the Apple PowerBook G4 of: Phillip McGree Web: http://www.phil.net.au Perth, Western Australiahttp://chat.iinet.net.au Mobile Phone: 0418 922 500 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Macs for sale - new and secondhand http://mac.iinet.net.au
